Structure of Grace Chapel
Grace Chapel is an interdenominational fellowship that is associated with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, headquartered in Los Angeles, California. We are organized governmentally by the Bylaws of the International Foursquare Church and are part of the Northwest District.
There is an elected Church Council that serves as a ways-and-means work group to the Senior Pastor. The Church Council members serve terms of 2 years and are eligible for election to an additional 2-year term.
When dealing with incoming and outgoing monies, we have different leaders who oversee every step of the process. On Sundays, money is counted by a team of faithful staff and/or members. In addition, we have different people that fill the following roles: counting money, data entry of offerings, depositing money, verifying deposit receipts, signing checks and reconciling account statements. This allows us to be completely above reproach and leaves no room for potential accusation.
Financial reports are generated monthly by an off-site, independent accounting firm. In addition, we have a licensed CPA who does not attend Grace Chapel oversee our financial bookkeeping and accounting operations. This gives us an added step of security and confidence in how Grace Chapel's money is being handled.
The executive team, ministry coordinators, and team leaders of our church are led and guided by our Senior pastor. His primary functions include:
- Casting vision and clarifying values
- Congregational teaching and preaching
- Prayer
- Personal discipleship of key leaders
- Chair Church Council
- Stewardship development
- Leadership training & development
- Personal care of congregation
- Staff coordination
- Community and denominational relations
Advisory Council:
There is an elected Church Council that serves as a ways-and-means work group to the Senior Pastor. The Church Council members serve terms of two years and are eligible for election to an additional two-year term.
| LEADER | TEAM | POSITION | CONTACT |
| Todd Syruws | AC Team | Lead Pastor | 375-5515 |
| Tony SanNicolas |
AC Team | Council Member | 375-5515 |
| John Teel |
AC Team | Council Member | 375-5515 |
| Steve Carlson |
AC Team | Council Member | 375-5515 |
| Kevin Jackson |
AC Team | Council Member | 375-5515 |
Ministry Coordinators:
Ministries are led by department coordinators who help guide the activity, communication, and alignment of each ministry. There are five major categories of ministries in our church: Sunday Experience, Children, Youth, Groups & Seminars, and Extension. All the ministries at Grace fall under one of those areas.
| LEADER | TEAM | COORDINATOR | CONTACT |
| Carmen Escalera | Children | Nursery | 375-5515 |
| Shannon Pape |
Children | Children | 375-5515 |
| John & Sarah Martinez |
Youth | Students | 375-5515 |
| Tony SanNicolas | Groups | Men's Bible Study | 375-5515 |
| Vic LaPorte |
Extension | Food Pantry | 375-5515 |
| Cherie LaPorte |
Extension | Food Pantry | 375-5515 |
| James Escalera |
Extension | Hospitality | 375-5515 |
| Steve Carlson |
Sunday Experience | Media & Technology | 375-5515 |
| Sue Jackson |
Sunday Experience | Coffee | 375-5515 |
| Vic Martinez Sr. |
Sunday Experience | Prayer | 375-5515 |
| Sapiel Bolanos |
Sunday Experience | Security | 375-5515 |
Team Leaders & Assistants:
The size of each ministry depends on the function of that ministry. Within each ministry there are different teams. Different functions require different sized teams.
Each team is led by various team leaders and assistants. Every team has a leader and every leader has has a team. Because we value doing church as a team, Grace Chapel is a volunteer driven church.
Spirit of Grace Chapel
Grace Chapel is more than a building, an organization, a man, or a Sunday. Grace Chapel is a group of missionaries, a community of faith, a population of diverse individuals united by a common relationship with Jesus Christ.
We strive to worship Him with every aspect of our lives, as we enjoy our city, its culture and recreation, as we laugh and eat good food with friends, and as we serve each other, our neighbors, and our Lord Jesus.
When it comes to doctrine, culture, preferences, traditions, lifestyles, politics, behavior, etc., Grace Chapel takes a “closed-hand/open-hand” approach. The closed hand hangs onto the non-negotiable tenets of the Christian faith: sin is the problem, grace is the invitation, Jesus is the answer, and the Bible is true.
The open hand, however, allows room for differences when it comes to secondary matters; we liberally allow freedom for conscience and wisdom to guide where the Bible is silent. The open hand fosters unity among the diversity of expressions found in the Grace Chapel congregation: Democrats and Republicans, young and not so young, soccer moms and Hip-hoppers, carnivores and vegans, trendy artisans, and computer techies.
Augustine (354-430 AD) said, "In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity. Hence, Grace Chapel is in favor for example, from time-to-time having a glass of wine over a nice dinner (in moderation), great sex (in marriage), and even tattoos (Jesus has one). But our focus must always be love and concern for our friends so that we don’t enjoy our freedom at the expense of their faith and conscience (1 Corinthians 8:13). Again, those who take a glass of wine with their meals or smoke the occasional cigar are encouraged to be very thoughtful of whom they are with and of their surroundings so not to offend or be a source of struggle for others who have convictions and a conscience that is different.
In this way, we are seeking to simultaneously heed the Bible’s commands to have sound doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16; Titus 1:9, 2:1), to love our Christian brothers and sisters (1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 4:7-21), and to avoid unnecessary divisions (Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 1:10, 12:25; Titus 3:10).
Therefore, who we are, and what we believe, influence how we live in the time and place God has placed us. Beyond Sunday services, Grace Chapel follows the biblical model of getting together through midweek smaller groups to share lives together in the mission God has given us. Guests become members of our church family by first taking our Growing Deep, Growing Strong class to assess their faith and ours.
We also offer special events along the way to help people in the faith and better serve one another. For those in need of special care, we have pastors and leaders who offer individual prayer counseling and recovery groups.
As an organization, Grace Chapel is devoted to church planting, leadership development, and worship renewal by providing online resources for those beyond Grace Chapel. As a church body, members are active in their community and abroad, working for and with other redemptive organizations locally and globally.